Sheet feeding mechanism for cartoning machines



J. A. DIETER 3,282,585

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CARTONING MACHINES Nov. 1, 1966 8Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 8, 1964 NOV. 6 J. A. DIETER 3282,55

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CARTONING MACHINES Filed June 8, 1964 8Sheets-Sheet 2 A T TUBA/5X5 Nov. 1, 1966 J. A. DIETER 3,282,585

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CARTONING MACHINES Filed June 8, 1964 8Sheets-Sheet 5 I N VEN TOR.

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Nov. 1, 1966 J. A. DIETER 3,282,585

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SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CARTONING MACHINES rrom/eys.

Nov. 1, 1966 .1. A. DIETER 3,282,585

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CARTONING MACHINES Filed June 8, 1964 8Sheets-Sheet s A TTOE/VE Y5 United States Patent Office 3,282,585Patented Nov. 1, 1966 3,282,585 SHEET FEEDTNG MEHANISM FOR CARTONINGMACHINES Julian A. Dieter, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to R. A. Jones andCompany, Inc., Covington, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Filed June 8,1964, Ser. No. 373,356 14 Claims. (Cl. 271-3) This invention relatesgenerally to cartoning machines which are designed to erect cartons froma flat collapsed condition; to insert articles into the individualcartons; to insert a folded leaflet, such as in instruction sheet, intoeach carton; and finally to close the end flaps of the carton before itis discharged from the machine. The invention is directed particularlyto a sheet or leaflet feeding mechanism which folds and inserts thefolded leaflets into the article transport buckets of the cartoningmachine, adapting the folded leaflets subsequently to be inserted intothe carton along with the article when the article reaches the transferstation of the cartoning machine.

One of the primary objectives of the present invention has been toprovide a leaflet folding mechanism which is adapted to receive thesheets or leaflets in flat condition from a leaflet magazine; to foldeach leaflet upon itself to reduce it to a size to fit within thecarton; and to feed each folded leaflet rapidly and in a positive mannerinto the continuously advancing article transport buckets of thecartoning machine.

Generally speaking, the cartoning machine, for which the present leafletfeeding mechanism is particularly intended, comprises a continuouslyadvancing article conveyor which includes the article transport bucketsreferred to above. At a point upstream from the leaflet feedingmechanism, the articles are placed individually into the buckets eithermanually or by a suitable article feeding mechanism. As the transportbuckets (each containing one of the articles) moves downstream, theleaflet feeding mechanism of the invention inserts one of the foldedleaflets into each continuously advancing bucket, the arrangement beingsuch that the folded leaflet subsequently is doubled over upon thearticle.

After the leaflets are inserted, the transport buckets advance eacharticle and its leaflet to a carton loading station for transfer of thearticle (and leaflet) into the open end of a carton. The cartons areadvanced continuously by a carton conveyor extending in parallelism withthe article transport conveyor. The erected cartons are advanced inerected condition with the open end of each carton located adjacent theopen end of a respective article transport bucket, which advances alongwith the carton.

As noted above, the folded leaflet is doubled over upon he leading endof each article, which is now disposed adjacent the open end of thecontinuously advancing carton on the carton conveyor. Upon reaching anarticle transfer station, the article transfer mechanism shifts thearticle transversely from the article transport bucket, shifting thedoubled leaflet into the carton along with the article. The end flaps ofthe carton are then folded to a closed position, thus completing thecarton loading operation, with the article and its doubled over leafletenclosed therein.

Another objective of the present invention has been to provide anarrangement of article transport buckets in which each bucket includes atransverse pocket located beneath the bottom of the transport bucket(which is generally U-shaped in cross section), such that the foldedleaflet may be inserted into the bucket without interference by thearticle resting upon the bottom of the bucket.

According to this aspect of the invention, the leaflet feeding mechanismis arranged to insert each leaflet into the pocket of the articletransport bucket to a point which is slightly less than half the lengthof the leaflet. Accordingly, when the leaflet subsequently is doubledover upon the leading end of the article, the leaflet is approximatelycentered with respect to the leading end of the article. In other words,the doubled-over leaflet extends for approximately equal distances alongthe upper and lower surfaces of the article to facilitate the subsequentinsertion of the leaflet and article into the open end of the carton.

A further objective of the invention has been to provide a leafletconveyor adapted to advance the leaflets longitudinally in unison withthe advancing article transport buckets, combined with a leaflet pushermechanism which acts upon the folded leaflets along an oblique path, therate of motion of the leaflet pusher mechanism along the oblique pathbeing coordinated with the rate of longitudinal motion of the leafletsalong their longitudinal path. According to this combination, the foldedleaflets advance from the leaflet folding mechanism to the leafletconveyor while traveling longitudinally in alignment with and at thesame rate of advancement of the transport buckets, thereby to be shiftedtransversely into the pockets of the transport buckets during continuousadvancement of both the article and the leaflet.

In order to provide positive handling of the folded leaflets, which isone of the objectives of the invention outlined above, the leafletconveyor comprises a series of conveyor chains having upstanding lugswhich engage the trailing side of each folded leaflet to advance theleaflet in time with the article transport buckets. The leaflet conveyorincludes a series of longitudinal support bars spaced apart to provideclearance for the leaflet conveyor lugs, which advance longitudinallyalong the space between the bars. Each support bar includes a slide baron its upper surface adapted to slidably support the leaflet as it isconveyed in alignment with the article transport bucket into which itsubsequently is transferred.

The downstream ends of the slide bars define an oblique anglecorresponding to the oblique angle of the pusher mechanism. By virtue ofthis arrangement, the ends of the folded leaflets are exposed to thepusher mechanism along the oblique angle delineated by the slide bars.The pusher mechanism includes downwardly depending pusher fingers whichproject below the plane of the leaflets which project outwardly alongthe oblique ends of the slide bars for positive engagement andadvancement of the leaflets into the pockets of the article transportbuckets.

For positive transfer of the folded leaflets, there is provided a seriesof longitudinal hold-down bars mounted above and in parallelism with thelongitudinal slide bars. The hold-down bars are spaced upwardly asufficient distance to confine the folded leaflets without interferingwith their tranverse sliding motion. In order to facilitate operation ofthe machine, the hold-down bars form a part of a hinged gate which maybe elevated above the slide bars in order to correct any malfunction,such as the jamming of one or more of the folded leaflets during thetransfer motion.

The various objectives and advantages of the present invention, outlinedabove, will be more clearly apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with theattached drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, illustrating in a generalway, the leaflet feeding mechanism of the present invention in relationto the leaflet folding mechanism and article conveyor buckets of acartoning machine. In this view, the articles are omitted from theconveyor buckets to aid in disclosing the operating principles of theinvention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view similar 3 to FIGURE 1,showing the articles in position within the article transport buckets tofurther illustrate the structure and operation of the leaflet feedingmechanism.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary top plan view taken from the side of themachine opposite to that shown in FIG- URE 2, illustrating particularlythe leaflet conveyor system, with the hold-down gate removed.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3,illustrating the leaflet conveyor in relation to the leaflet pushermechanism.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 4,illustrating, in further detail, the leaflet conveyor system whichadvances the folded leaflets in time with the advancement of the articleconveyor buckets, and also the hold-down gate which confines the foldedleaflets with respect to the leaflet conveyor system.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary side view detailing the gear drive whichoperates the belt system for advancing the folded leaflets from thefolding mechanism to the conveyor system of the leaflet feeder.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary side view, illustrating the driving system ofthe leaflet feeding mechanism.

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary top plan view, as projected from FIGURE 7,further illustrating the general arrangement of the leaflet feeder,particularly the multiple chain conveyor system which advances theleaflets in alignment with the advancing article conveyor buckets afterthe leaflet folding operation. In this view, the hold-down gate and theslide bars have been omitted to more clearly illustrate the leafletconveyor system.

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken along line 99 of FIGURE 7, furtherdetailing the leaflet belt conveyor system and multiple chain conveyorsystem.

FIGURE 10 is a top plan view, with the cover in cross section,illustrating the driving system of the leaflet pusher mechanism which ismounted above the leaflet conveyor for cooperating therewith inadvancing the folded leaflets to the transport buckets of the articleconveyor.

FIGURE 11 is a sectional View taken along the line 1111 of FIGURE 10,further detailing the leaflet pusher mechanism.

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view taken along line 1212 of FIGURE 11,illustrating the driving chain in relation to the conveyor chain of theleaflet pusher mechanism.

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line13-13-of FIGURE 11, detailing the conveyor chain and downwardlydepending fingers of the leaflet pusher mechanism.

General arrangement Described generally with reference to FIGURES 1-3,the cartoning machine, for which the leaflet feeder mechanism isparticularly intended, is indicated generally at 1. The leaflet feedermechanism, which is operated in synchronism with the cartoning machine,is indicated generally at 2. Generally speaking, the leaflet feedermechanism 2 comprises an overhead leaflet pusher mechanism, indicatedgenerally at 3, and a multiple chain leaflet conveyor indicatedgenerally at 4. The pusher mechanism 3 is mounted above the multiplechain leaflet conveyor 4 and is provided with depending pusher fingers,as described in detail later, which shift along a path which is inclinedat an oblique angle with respect to the path of motion of the multiplechain conveyor 4.

The leaflets, as indicated at 5 in FIGURE 2, are fed in flat conditionfrom a leaflet magazine (not shown) and are advanced by rollers to aleaflet folding mechanism, which is indicated generally at 6 (FIGURES 1and 2). In general, the leaflet folding mechanism 6 includes tworeciprocating folding arm assemblies operating in time with theadvancing leaflets 5 and arranged to fold each flat leaflet 5 twice.

The first folding arm assembly 7 is adapted to act upon the flat leaflet5 to double the leaflet upon itself. The second folding arm assembly 8is arranged to double 4. over the partially folded leaflet afteradvancement from the first folding arm assembly 7. Thus, eachsubstantially square leaflet 5 is folded twice upon itself and reducedto the rectangular shape indicated at 10 (FIG- URE 1). The foldedleaflets 10' are then discharged from the leaflet folding mechanism 6and delivered to the multiple chain leaflet conveyor, previouslyindicated at 4.

The multiple chain conveyor 4 includes lugs which engage and advance thefolded leaflet 1% in a downstream direction at the same rate ofadvancement and in alignment with the article transport buckets, whichare indicated generally at 11. The article transport buckets 11, asdescribed later, transport the articles 12 (FIGURE 2) individually, suchthat the folded leaflets 10 subsequently are inserted, along with thearticles 12 into individual cartons.

As noted earlier, the cartoning machine does not form a part of thepresent invention and therefore has not been disclosed in detail. Ingeneral, the machine comprises a frame, indicated generally at 13(FIGURE 1), including guide rails 14 for slidably supporting a pair oftransport chain runs I515 upon which the article transport buckets 11are mounted. The chain runs 15 and transport buckets 11 are advanced inthe direction shown by the arrow (FIGURE 1) by the driving system of thecartoning machine (not shown).

The articles 12 (FIGURE 2) are loaded into the buckets 11 either by handor by a suitable article feeding mechanism (-not shown), which islocated in the upstream portion of the chain runs 15. After advancing inthe downstream direction beyond the leaflet feeder mechanism 2 (with thefolded leaflets 10 inserted into the buckets, as explained later), eachfolded leaflet 10 is doubled upwardly by suitable guide means, such thatapproximately one-half the length of the leaflet 10 overlies the article12. This mechanism forms a part of the cartoning machine 1 and is notdisclosed. After the leaflet 10 is thus doubled over upon the top of thearticle, the article is pushed by a suit-able feeding means transverselyin the direction of the overfolded port-ion of the leaflet 10 into itscarton (not shown).

The cartons are transported in erected condition by a carton conveyor(not shown) at the same rate and alignment with the article transportbuckets 11. Thus, each article, with the leaflet 10 doubled over itsleading portion, may be pushed endwisely into the open end of thecarton. In other words, the article itself acts to transfer the leafletinto the carton as the article is shifted trans- Versely.

The cartoning machine is provided with a carton magazine, with means forfeeding and erecting the cartons and for transferring the erectedcartons to the carton conveyor (not shown). The cartoning machine alsoincludes means for opening the flaps of the cartons at the end whichreceives the article and for closing the flaps after the article 12,with its folded leaflet 10, has been transferred into the open end ofthe carton. The loaded cartons subsequently are discharged from themachine.

As shown in FIGURE 1, each article transport bucket 11 is a compositestructure comprising a base 16 having lugs 1717 which connect the baseto the transport chain runs 15--15. The base 16 is provided withupstanding flanges 1818 extending transversely to the longitudinal pathof motion of the transport chains. The bucket 11 is generally U-shaped,providing an article receptacle, also extending transversely to thelongitudinal path of motion of the buckets. Each bucket includes abottom plate 20 which is seated upon and attached to the flanges 18-18of its base 16. This arrangement provides a transverse pocket 21delineated by the base 16 and the bottom plate 20 of the bucket 11.

As noted earlier, the articles 12 are loaded into the buckets 11 at anupstream portion of the cartoning machine, that is, before the loadedbuckets reach the leaflet feeder mechanism 2, as shown in FIGURE 2. Thetransverse pocket 21 of each bucket 11 therefore provides an openreceptacle arranged to receive the leading end portion 22 (FIGURE 3) ofthe leaflet in a position beneath the article 12. Otherwise expressed,the article 12 (which is already confined in the bucket) would interfereif it were attempted to insert the leaflet 10 directly beneath thearticle 12 in the bucket.

In order to facilitate insertion of the leaflet 10, the end of eacharticle transport bucket 11, which is presented to the leaflet feedingmechanism 2, includes an inset portion 23. As explained later in detail,the leaflet conveyor 4 includes a horizontal hold-down gate 24 (FIG- URE1). This gate includes longitudinal bars which overlie the severalfolded leaflets 10 as they are being shifted transversely into thepockets 21 of the transport buckets. The inset portion 23 of each bucketcooperates with the hold-down bars to guide the leading end of eachleaflet in a positive manner into its pocket 21.

Generally speaking, the leaflet folding mechanism 6, the leafletconveyor 4 and the overhead pusher mechanism 3 are all driven at relatedspeeds in time with the article transport buckets 11 by means of acommon driving system. The folded leaflets 10 issue from the leafletfolding mechanisms 6 to the leaflet conveyor 4 in time with the buckets11 and are advanced longitudinally in time with and in alignment withthe buckets. The leaflet pusher mechanism 3 includes pusher fingers,disclosed in detail later, which move along a path of motion angular inrelation to the longitudinal path of motion of the folded leaflets 10 asthe leaflets are advanced by the leaflet conveyor 4.

The inclined path of motion of the fingers and the longitudinal path ofmotion of the leaflet conveyor thus move the leaflets 16 along twocoordinate paths, consisting of the longitudinal path indicated by thearrows A (FIGURE 3) and the inclined path indicated by the arrows B. Asnoted earlier, the rate of longitudinal motion indicated by the arrow Acorresponds to the rate of longitudinal motion of the article transportbuckets 11, with the leaflets 1i) aligned therewith. The rate of angularmotion, as imparted by the oblique relationship of the pusher mechanism3, is so related to the longitudinal motion, as indicated by the arrowsA and B, to progressively transfer the leaflets it? into the transversepockets 21 of the article transport buckets 11.

As best shown in FIGURE 3, a minor portion C of the leaflet 10 isinserted into the transverse pocket 21 of the bucket. Portion C isadapted to underlie the article 12 when the article and leaflet areshifted into the carton. A second portion of the leaflet, indicated atD, has a length equal to the portion C and is adapted to overlie thearticle 12 upon insertion thereof :into the carton. The intermediateportion of the leaflet, indicated at E, passes around the leading end ofthe article after the leaflet is folded over the article prior totransfer of the article and leaflet into the carton.

The portions C and D of the leaflet it in the present example, are equalto or less than the length of the article to facilitate insertion intothe carton. The direction in which the article is shifted duringinsertion into the carton is indicated by the arrow F in FIGURES 2 and3, the portion D of the leaflet having been folded upwardly to overliethe article prior to the transfer motion.

Leaflet folding mechanism Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2, the leafletfolding mechanism 6 is mounted above the leaflet feeder mechanism 2 inan upstream position, as noted earlier. As the unfolded leaflets 5 issuefrom the magazine (not shown) they are slidably confined between aseries of longitudinal bars 25-25 leading from the magazine to a pair ofrollers 2626. The rollers 25 are driven by gears 2727 which are indriving connection with the main driving system of the cartoningmachine. The rollers 26 engage the flat leaflet sheet 5 and advance thesheet to a position between a pair of rollers 2828 which are rotatablymounted adjacent the rollers 26. The rollers 2828 include a plurality ofbelt runs 30 which are arranged to advance the flat leaflet sheet 5toward the first leaflet folding arm assembly 7, as indicated by thearrow. The arm assembly 7 engages the sheet 5 at a point approximatelymid-way of its length and forces it downwardly to a position between theopposed rollers 3131, such that the sheet 5 is doubled upon itself as itpasses between the rollers 3131.

When the sheet 5 reaches a position with its center portionapproximately beneath the first folding arm assembly 7, the arm descendsso as to double the sheet upon itself and to advance the folded edge ofthe sheet downwardly to be engaged by the opposed folding rollers 3131.It will be noted in FIGURES l and 2, that the folded sheet 5 passesbeneath an upwardly inclined plate 32 and passes to the second foldingarm assembly 8. After having been doubled upon itself, by the first arm7, the sheet 5 is engaged between a series of opposed belt runs (notshown) mounted beneath the inclined plate 32 to be folded upon itself bythe second folding arm assembly 8.

Upon being folded the second time, as indicated earlier, the foldedleaflet, previously indicated at 10, is engaged between the belt runs 33and 33a to be advanced to the multiple chain leaflet conveyor 4 (FIGURES1, 4, 7 and 9). The upper belt runs are advanced by an upper set ofpulleys 34. The lower belt runs 33a are carried by a lower set ofpulleys 29 and 35. The lower pulleys 29 and 35 form a part of thedriving system, as explained later. The upper and lower pulleys aredriven in tracking relationship with one another by a pair of companiongears, as described later with reference to the driving system. In otherwords, the opposed belt runs 33 and 33a move at a uniform speed in thesame direction at a rate timed with the operation of the cartoningmachine.

The several components of the leaflet folding mechanism 6 are mountedbetween a pair of side plates 3636 (FIGURES l, 2 and 4) which areconnected to the frame 13 of the cartoning machine. The operatingcomponents of the leaflet folding mechanism 6 are driven in time withone another and in time with the cartoning machine by a common drivingsystem, as noted earlier.

Leaflet conveyor As each folded leaflet 10 advances from the dischargeend of the belt runs 33-33:: (FIGURES 14), it passes to the multipleleaflet chain conveyor 4 to be engaged and advanced by the lugs 37 whichform a part of the leaflet conveyor 4. The leaflet conveyor comprises aseries of support bars 38 (FIGURES 3, 4 and 5) which extendlongitudinally in parallelism with the path of motion of the lugs 37.The support bars 38 are spaced apart as at 40 (FIGURE 3) to provideclearance for the lugs 37 of the leaflet conveyor. In the form shown inthe present disclosure (FIGURE 3), the leaflet conveyor comprises fourpairs of chain runs 41, the support bars 33 being spaced to accommodatethe sets of lugs 37. As best shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the lugs 37project upwardly above the support bars 38 so as to engage and advancethe folded leaflets 11 In order to advance the leaflets It in a positivemanner the support bars 38 include respective slide bars 39 mounted uponthe support bars 38. The slide bars 39 thus support the leaflets 10 in aplane above the support bars 38, while the leaflets are confined uponthe slide bars 39 as explained later.

As best shown in FIGURE 3, the downstream ends of the slide bars 39correctively define an oblique angle, indicated at 39a which correspondswith the oblique path of motion of the pusher mechanism 3. The pusherfingers 106, one for each leaflet 11 project downwardly substantially tothe plane of the support bars 38, the folded leaflets 10 being slidablysupported above this plane by the slide bars 39 while being advanced bythe 7 lugs 37 of conveyor 4. Thus, as best shown in FIGURE 3, the endportion G of each leaflet 10 projects outwardly beyond the obliquelydisposed ends 39a of the slide plates 39. This provides positiveengagement with the ends G of the leaflets 10 by the lower ends of thepusher fingers 106, which project below the plane of the leaflets, asindicated in FIGURES 4 and 5.

As the folded leaflets 10 issue from the opposed belt runs 3333a(FIGURES 3 and 4) they pass directly to the slide bars 39 to be engagedand advanced by the advancing lugs 37 of leaflet conveyor 4. In order toadvance the folded leaflets 10 in a positive manner, the horizontalhold-down gate, previously indicated at 24, is mounted immediatelyadjacent the leaflet delivery belts 33-3311. Thus, the folded leaflet 10passes immediately upon the slide bars 39 to be confined thereon by thehold-down gate 24, which is mounted above the slide bars 39. In otherwords, the folded leaflet is confined between the slide bars 39 andhold-down gate 24 for positive advancement by the lugs 37 of the leafletconveyor 4.

The hold-down gate 24 (FIGURES 1, 2 and 4) comprises a frame consistingof a pair of transverse bars 4242 having their ends secured by rivetingor the like to a longitudinal bar 43. The longitudinal bar 43 includes ahinge 44 which is connected to a side piece 49. The transverse bars 42include a handle 45 permitting the hold-down gate 24 to be elevatedabove the lower slide bars 39 to facilitate maintenance.

The hold-down gate 24 includes a series of longitudinal hold-down bars46 which are parallel with the slide bars 39 and in alignment therewith.Thus, as best shown in FIGURE 4, the folded leaflets 18 are confinedbetween the slide bars 39 and the hold-down bars 46, with the lugs 37projecting above the clearance 47 which exists between the slide bars 39and hold-down bars 46 (FIG- URES 4 and In order to regulate theclearance or spacing 47 in accordance with the thickness of the variousleaflets which may be handled by the machine, the swinging end of thehold-down gate 24 is provided with an adjustment screw 48 passingthrough one of the transverse bars 42 (FIG- URES 2, 4 and 5). Theadjustment screw 48 is clamped in its adjusted position by a nut 50.

The lugs 37 of the leaflet conveyor 4 are mounted upon the respectivechain runs 41, previously noted. The chain runs pass about respectivedrive sprockets 52 (FIG- URES 7 and 8), which are mounted upon a driveshaft 53. The respective ends of the drive shaft 53 are journalled inthe side plates 36-36. The opposite ends of the chain runs 41 passaround respective idler sprockets 54 which are mounted upon the idlershaft 55, which is also journalled in the side plates 36-36. The driveshaft 53 includes a power sprocket 56 meshing with a sprocket chain 57(FIGURES 7 and 8). The drive sprocket is in driving connection with thecarton machine by a driving system, as explained in detail later.

In order to control the tension of the chain runs 51 (FIGURE 7), the endportion of the side plates 36 are slotted as at 58 to provide clearancefor the drive shaft 53. To permit adjustment, the opposite ends of thedrive shaft 53 are journalled in shiftable bearings 6860. The bearings60-60 are slotted as at 6161, the slots 61 being traversed by screws 62which are threaded into the side plates 36. In regulating the tension ofthe chains 41 of the leaflet conveyor 4, it is necessary to compensateby adjusting the drive chain 57. For this purpose (FIGURE 7), there isprovided an idler sprocket 63 meshing with the upper run of chain 57 andcarried upon a shaft 64. The shaft, in turn, is journalled in ashiftable bearing 65 which traverses a slot 66 formed in one of the sideplates 36.

Leaflet pusher mechanism As noted earlier, the overhead leaflet pushermechanism 3 is mounted above the leaflet conveyor 4 and is disposed atan oblique angle to the longitudinal path of motion of the leafletconveyor 4. The pusher mechanism comprises a frame 67 (FIGURES 2, 10, 11and 12) having an outer end portion supported by a bracket 68, thebracket 68 being attached to one of the side plates 36 of the frame ofleaflet conveyor 4. As pointed out previously (FIGURE 3) the downstreamends of the longitudinal hold-down bars 46 and the slide bars 39 aremachined at an oblique angle, as indicated at 39a, the ends of the barscollectively corresponding with the angle of motion by the pusherfingers 106 of the leaflet pusher mechanism 3.

Described in detail (FIGURES 10-13), the frame 67 of the leaflet pushermechanism 3 comprises an arm 71 which supports the driving system 72 ofthe pusher mechanism 3. The driving system 72 powers the chain run 73which advances the fingers 106 of the pusher mechanism along the obliquepath of advancement, as indicated by the broken lines 75 in FIGURE 3.

The bracket 68 supports the arm 71 of the leaflet pusher mechanism 3 incantilever fashion overhanging the leaflet conveyor 4. For this purpose(FIGURES 10 and 11) the bracket 68 (rigidly attached to one of the sideplates 36) includes a mounting block 76 at its upper portion. The arm 71is slotted longitudinally as at 77 and the clamping block 76 underliesthe slot 77. The mounting block 76 is locked in position by a cleat 78overlying the top surface of arm 71. Screws 8080 pass through the cleat78 into threaded engagement with the mounting block 7 6 to clamp thecleat 7 8 upon the top surface of arm 71. The bracket 68 thus supportsthe arm in its cantilever fashion with respect to the leaflet conveyor4.

The bracket 68 includes an upstanding bearing sleeve 81 (FIGURE ll)journalling a vertical shaft 82 which powers the driving system 72 ofthe leaflet pusher mechanism 3. The lower end of shaft 82 includes abevel gear 83 (FIGURE 11) meshing with a companion bevel gear 84, whichis keyed to a horizontal power shaft 85. The power shaft 85 is rotatedin time with the other components of the cartoning machine, such thatthe folded leaflets 16 are advanced to the buckets 11 of the cartoningmachine in timed relationship with the advancement of the buckets.

The driving system 72 of the pusher mechanism 3 comprises the chain run86 (FIGURES 10 and ll) and a drive sprocket 87 mounted upon the powershaft 82 and meshing with chain run 86. The opposite ends of the chainrun 86 pass around respective sprockets 88 and 90 which are journalledupon the stub shafts 91 and 92. The stub shafts 91 and 92 are rotatablyjournalled in the brackets 93 and 94. In order to regulate the tensionof chain 86, the arm 71 is slotted as at 9595 and the bracket 94includes bolts 96% passing through the slots and including nuts 97(FIGURE 11) to clamp the bracket 94 in its adjusted position. Thebracket 93 is held in place by the bolts 9898, passing through the arm71 and including nuts 100 (FIGURE 11).

In order to regulate the tension of the drive chain 86, there isprovided an idler sprocket 181 (FIGURES l0 and 11) meshing with chain 86and rotatably mounted upon an idler shaft 102. The idler shaft 102 risesfrom a mounting plate 103, which in turn, is adjustably secured to themain mounting block 76 of bracket 68. For this purpose the mountingplate 103 is slotted as at 164 (FIG URE 10), the slots being traversedby the clamping screws 105 which are threaded into the clamping block76.

The pusher fingers 1M depend downwardly from a chain run 197 (FIGURE 11)which is advanced by the driving system 72. For this purpose, the lowerend portion of each stub shaft 91 and 92 is provided with a sprocket.These sprockets, indicated at 108 and 118, are keyed to the respectiveshafts 91 and 92, such that the chain run 107 is advanced in unison withthe chain run 86 of the driving system.

As best shown in FIGURES 12 and 13, the arm 71 in- 9 cludes longitudinalguide plates 111 for guiding the fin-gers 106 along the angular path, aspreviously indicated by the broken line 75 in FIGURE 3. For thispurpose, the lower portion of each guide plate is grooved as at 112 todelineate a flange 113 (FIGURE 13) adapted to engage the rollers 114 ofthe chain run 107. The downwardly depending pusher fingers 106 areattached to the chain run 107 by respective pairs of angle brackets115-115 (FIGURE 13) attached to the chain run, the fingers beingattached to the brackets by the screws 116-116.

The pusher fingers 106 are square in cross section and the lower endportion of each finger is tapered to provide a downwardly convergingportion 117 which delineates a head 118 (FIGURE 13). The convergingportion 117 engages the end G of the leaflet 10, while the head 118underlies the edge of the leaflet as best shown in FIG- URE 4. Thepusher fingers 106 pass across the support bars 38, with the end of eachfinger slightly spaced from the top surface of the bars 38 forclearance. As noted earlier, the slide bars 39 support the leaflet 10 ina plane above the support bars 38 to provide positive engagement withthe leaflet 10 (FIGURE while the hold-down bars 46 prevent upwarddisplacement of the leaflet 10. The rate of longitudinal motion of thelugs 37 is coordimated to the oblique path of motion of the pusherfingers 106 to shift the leaflets transversely into the pockets 21 ofthe buckets 11, as noted earlier.

Driving system As best shown in FIGURES 7 and 8 the leaflet feedingmechanism 2 is driven in time with the components of the cartoningmachine by way of the power shaft 119 which has its opposite endsjournalled in the side plates 36-36. Shaft 119 is connected to thedriving system of the cartoning machine and includes a sprocket 120.Sprocket 120 drives a sprocket chain 121 meshing with a sprocket 122which is keyed to a cross shaft 123. The tension of chain 121 isregulated by an idler sprocket 124 mounted upon a shaft 125. The shaft125 is carried by shiftable means (not shown) to provide for tensionadjustment.

The leaflet feeding mechanism 2 is driven from the shaft 123 by asprocket 126 (FIGURES 7 and 8) keyed to shaft 123 and in meshingengagement With a sprocket chain run 127. The opposite end of chain run127 meshes with a sprocket 128 which is keyed to a shaft 130, alsojournalled in the side plates 36-36. The shaft 130 includes a sprocket131 meshing with the chain 57, as noted earlier in the description ofthe leaflet conveyor 4 (FIGURE 3). The chain 57 meshes with the sprocket56 of cross shaft 53, thus advancing the lugs 37 of the leaflet conveyorin time with the buckets 11 of the cartoning machine.

In order to advance the chains 86 and 107 of the pusher mechanism 3 intime with the cartoning machine, the pusher mechanism is also drivenfrom the sprocket chain 57. Thus, as shown in FIGURES 8 and 11 the crossshaft 85, which drives bevel gear 84, includes a sprocket 132. Sprocket132 meshes with the sprocket chain 57.

The rollers 34-34, which support the upper belt run 33 (FIGURES 3 and 4)are mounted upon respective cross shafts 133-133. Shafts 133 have theiropposite ends journalled in a pair of brackets 134-134. The upstreamends of the brackets 134-134 are pivotally connected as at 135 (FIGURE7) to the side plates, previously indicated at 36. The upper belt runs33 thus rest by gravity upon the lower belt runs 33a.

The pulleys of the lower belt runs 33a are mounted upon a cross shaft136 having its opposite ends journalled in the side plates 36-36. Asnoted earlier, the pulleys 29 of the lower belt runs are mounted uponthe cross shaft 55, which is also journalled in the side plates 36.

In order to advance the opposed belt runs 33 and 33a in time with thecartoning machine, the lower belt runs 33a pass around a series ofpulleys 137 (FIGURE 7) which 10 are keyed to the cross shaft 130. Asnoted earlier, cross shaft is driven by the chain 127 and sprocket 128.

In order to drive the upper belt runs 33 at the same rate as the lowerbelt runs 33a, the cross shafts 133 and 136 (FIGURE 6) include companiongears 138 and 140. Thus, the lower set of belt runs 33a are driven bythe cross shaft 130 which, in turn, drives the lower cross shaft 136 ofthe belt runs 33a. By operation of the companion gears 138 and 140, themeeting surfaces of the belt runs 33 and 33a are advanced in the samedirection and at matching rates of linear motion.

Having described my invention I claim:

1. A sheet feeding mechanism for a cartoning machine, said cartoningmachine including an article conveyor having a series of articletransport buckets mounted thereon, a respective pocket formed in thelower portion of each of said article transport buckets, said pocketsextending tranversely of said buckets, and a driving system foradvancing said article conveyor in the downstream direction, said sheetfeeding mechanism comprising:

a sheet feeding mechanism, folding mechanism for receiving individualsheets from the sheet feeding mechanism and for folding each sheet atleast once upon itself;

a sheet conveyor extending longitudinally in parallelism with saidarticle conveyor and interconnected with said driving system, adaptingthe sheet conveyor to be advanced in the downstream directionrat a ratecorresponding to the rate of advancement of the article conveyor;

means delivering the folded sheets from the folding mechanism to thesheet conveyor;

and a pusher mechanism mounted with respect to said sheet conveyor andextending transversely thereof;

said pusher mechanism including means adapted to engage and shift saidfolded sheets transversely across the sheet conveyor and into thepockets of the article transport buckets of said article conveyor.

2. A sheet feeding mechanism for a cartoning machine, said cartoningmachine including an article conveyor having a series of articletransport buckets mounted thereon and a driving system for advancingsaid article conveyor in the downstream direction, said sheet feedingmechanism comprising:

a sheet conveyor extending longitudinally in parallelism with saidarticle conveyor and interconnected with said driving system, adaptingthe sheet conveyor to be advanced at a rate corresponding to the rate ofadvancement of the article conveyor;

said sheet conveyor including a slide means adapted to slidably supportthe sheets;

hold-down means disposed above the slide means of the sheet conveyor inspaced relation thereto for holding the sheets in sliding engagementWith the slide means;

a plurality of lugs mounted upon said sheet conveyor and projectingupwardly above the horizontal plane of the said sheet slide means;

said lugs adapted to engage and advance the sheets at a ratecorresponding to the rate of advancement of the said article transportbuckets and in transverse alignment therewith in the downstreamdirection;

a pusher mechanism mounted with respect to said sheet conveyor,extending transversely thereof, and interconnected with the drivingsystem;

said pusher mechanism adapted to engage and shift said sheetstransversely across the sheet conveyor and into the article transportbuckets of said article conveyor.

3. A sheet feeding mechanism for a cartoning machine, said cartoningmachine including an article conveyor having a series of articletransport buckets mounted thereon and a driving system for advancingsaid article conveyor in the downstream direction, said sheet feedingmechanism comprising:

a magazine adapted to confine a stack of sheets in flat condition;

folding mechanism mounted adjacent said magazine and adapted to foldeach sheet at least once upon itself;

means for feeding the flat sheets individually from the magazine to thefolding mechanism;

a sheet conveyor extending longitudinally in parallelism with saidarticle conveyor and interconnected with said driving system, adaptingthe sheet conveyor to be advanced in the downstream direction at a ratecorresponding to the rate of advancement of the article conveyor;

means for advancing the folded sheets from the folding mechanism to thesheet conveyor;

said sheet conveyor adapted to advance the folded sheets at a ratecorresponding to the rate of advancement of the said article transportbuckets and in transverse alignment therewith in the downstreamdirection;

a pusher mechanism mounted with respect to said sheet conveyor,extending transversely thereof, and interconnected with the drivingsystems;

said pusher mechanism adapted to engage and shift said folded sheetstransversely across the sheet conveyor and into the article transportbuckets of said article conveyor.

4. A sheet feeding mechanism for a cartoning machine, said cartoningmachine including an article conveyor having a series of articletransport buckets mounted thereon and a driving system for advancingsaid article conveyor in the downstream direction, said sheet feedingmechanism comprising:

a sheet conveyor extending longitudinally in parallelism with saidarticle conveyor and interconnected with said driving system;

said sheet conveyor including spaced longitudinal slide bars adapted toslidably support the sheets;

the downstream ends of the spaced longitudinal slide bars collectivelydefining an oblique angle extending across the sheet conveyor in thedownstream direction;

hold-down means having spaced longitudinal hold-down bars disposed aboveand parallel with said longitudinal slide bars for slidably engaging andholding the sheets in contact with the slide bars;

a plurality of lugs mounted upon said conveyor and projecting upwardlybetween the spaced slide bars;

said lugs adapted to advance the sheets along the slide bars at a ratecorresponding to the rate of advancement of the said article transportbuckets and in transverse alignment therewith in the downstreamdirection;

a pusher mechanism mounted above said sheet conveyor and extending alongan oblique angle corresponding to the oblique angle delineated by thedownstream ends of the slide bars;

means interconnecting the pusher mechanism with said driving system foradvancing the same in time with the sheet conveyor;

and pusher means on the pusher mechanism which are advanced along anoblique path adjacent the downstream ends of the slide bars at a ratecorrelated with the rate of longitudinal motion of the sheets;

whereby said pusher means are adapted to engage and shift said sheetstransversely across the sheet conveyor and into the article transportbuckets of said article conveyor.

5. A sheet feeding mechanism for a cartoning -machine, said cartoningmachine including an article conveyor having a series of articletransport buckets mounted thereon and a driving system for advancingsaid article conveyor in the downstream direction, said sheet feedingmechanism comprising;

,a sheet conveyor extending longitudinally in parallelism with saidarticle conveyor and interconnected with said driving system, adaptingthe sheet conveyor to be advanced at a rate corresponding to the rate ofadvancement of the article conveyor;

respective slide bars spaced apart from one another and extendinglongitudinally above the sheet conveyor;

hold-down means disposed above the slide bars;

a plurality of lugs on the sheet conveyor projecting upwardly betweenthe slide bars and having upper ends extending above the surface of theslide bars and above the lower surface of the hold-down means;

a pusher mechanism mounted above said sheet conveyor, extending at anoblique angle in the downstream direction of advancement thereof, andinterconnected with the driving system;

said pusher mechanism including downwardly depending pusher fingers;

the downstream ends of said slide bars and hold-down means delineatingan oblique angle corresponding to the oblique angle of the pushermechanism, whereby the downwardly depending fingers thereof move alongan oblique path generally parallel to the oblique angle delineated bythe downstream ends of the slide bars and hold-down means; i

the fingers of the pusher mechanism depending downwardly below the topplane of the slide bars, said pusher fingers advancing along the obliqueangle which is delineated by the downstream ends of the slide bars andhold-down means, thereby to engage the ends of the sheets duringadvancement in the downstream direction along said slide bars and toshift said sheets transversely into the article transport buckets of thearticle conveyor.

6. A sheet feeding mechanism for a cartoning machine, said cartoningmachine including an article conveyor having a series of articletransport buckets mounted thereon and a driving system for advancingsaid article conveyor in the downstream direction, said sheet feedingmechanism comprising: a

a sheet conveyor extending longitudinally in parallelism with saidarticle conveyor and interconnected with said driving system;

said sheet conveyor including spaced, longitudinal slide bars adapted toslidably support the sheets;

a plurality of lugs mounted upon said sheet conveyor and projectingupwardly between said spaced slide bars;

said lugs adapted to advance the sheets at a rate corresponding to therate of advancement of the said article transport buckets and intransverse alignment therewith in the downstream direction,

a pusher mechanism mounted above said sheet conveyor and extending alongan oblique angle in the downstream direction thereof;

said pusher mechanism including a plurality of pusher fingers dependingdownwardly therefrom and adapted to engage the ends of the sheetsadvancing along the sheet conveyor;

said driving system connected to said pusher mechanism and advancingsaid fingers at a rate of motion which is coordinated with the rate oflongitudinal motion of the sheet conveyor and article transportconveyor;

said fingers adapted to shift said sheets transversely from the sheetconveyor to the said article transport buckets;

and hold-down means mounted above the said slide bars in spaced relationthereto, whereby the sheets are held in engagement with the slide barsduring the transverse shifting motion of the sheets.

7. A sheet feeding mechanism for a cartoning machine, said cartoningmachine including an article conveyor having a series of articletransport buckets mounted thereon and a driving system for advancingsaid article conveyor in the downstream direction, said sheet feedingmechanism comprising:

a sheet conveyor extending longitudinally in parallelism l3 14 with saidarticle conveyor and interconnected with 10. A sheet feeding mechanismas set forth in claim 9 said driving system; in which said arm includesa driving chain run interconsaid sheet conveyor including spacedlongitudinal slide nected with the driving system and in drivingconnection bars adapted to slidably support the sheets; with the pusherchain run.

the downstream ends of the spaced longitudinal slide 5 11. A sheetfeeding mechanism as set forth in claim 4 bars collectively defining anoblique angle; in which the article transport buckets each include arespective hold-down bars spaced above and in paralpocket in the lowerportion thereof, said pockets 6Xl6lldlelism with the slide bars andhaving downstream ing transversely substantially in the same horizontalplane ends collectively delineating an oblique angle correas the topsurfaces of the slide bars and adapted to receive spending to the angleof the slide bars; 10 the sheets upon transverse shifting thereof bysaid pusher a plurality of lugs mounted upon said conveyor and means.

projecting upwardly between the spaced slide bars; 12. A sheet feedingmechanism as set forth in claim 11 said lugs adapted to advance thesheets along the slide in which the pusher means are adapted to shiftthe sheets bars at a rate corresponding to the rate ofadvancetransversely into said pockets to a point which is less than mentof said article transport buckets and in trans- 15 the full length ofthe sheet, leaving a portion of each sheet verse alignment therewith inthe downstream direcprotruding transversely from the pocket of thearticle tion; 7 transport conveyor.

a pusher mechanism mounted above said sheet conveyor 13. A sheet feedingmechanism as set forth in claim 7 and extending along an oblique anglecorresponding in which the sheet conveyor includes framing elements andto the oblique angle delineated by the downstream in which thelongitudinally spaced hold-down bars form ends of the slide bars andhold-down bars; part of a hold-down gate having one end hingedlyconmeans interconnecting the pusher mechanism With said nected to theframing elements and adapting the holddriving system for advancing thesame in time with down bars to be raised collectively for servicing thesheet the sheet conveyor; conveyor.

and pusher means on the pusher mechanism which are 14. A sheet feedingmechanism as set forth in claim 13 d a d along an oblique path adjacentthe doWnin which there is provided an adjustment element on the streamends of the slide bars and pusher bars at a rate hold-dow gate adaptingth pacing b t th lid correlated with the rate of longitudinal motion ofthe bar and h 1d-d b t b ht d, sheets;

whereby said pusher means are adapted to engage and References Cited bythe Examiner shift said sheets transversely across the sheet con- UNITEDSTATES PATENTS ig the amcle transport buckets of Sand 2,865,154 12/1958Coyne 53 252 X yor.

8, A sheet feeding mechanism as set forth in claim 4 2891363 6/1959Coyne 53*252 X i hi h the pusher mechanism comprises an arm extend- 21935 5/1960 f 198 23 X ing in cantilever fashion across the sheet conveyor,a 29963 8/1961 Wmkler et 53-252 X pusher hain run passing about said armand intercon- 3033341 5/1962 19820 nected with the driving system foradvancing the pusher 3105337 10/1963 Clanm et 53-251 means 3,166,1811/1965 Rutkus et al. 198185 X 9. A sheet feeding mechanism as set forthin claim 8 I in which the pusher means comprises a plurality of pusherHENSON WOOD prlma'y Exammer' fingers spaced apart from one another anddepending A. N. KNOWLES, Assistant Examiner. downwardly from the pusherchain run.

1. A SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM FOR A CARTONING MACHINE, SAID CARTONINGMACHINE INCLUDING AN ARTICLE CONVEYOR HAVING A SERIES OF ARTICLETRANSPORT BUCKETS MOUNTED THEREON, A RESPECTIVE POCKET FORMED IN THELOWER PORTION OF EACH OF SAID ARTICLE TRANSPORT BUCKETS, SAID POCKETSEXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID BUCKETS, AND A DRIVING SYSTEM FORADVANCING SAID ARTICLE CONVEYOR IN THE DOWNSTREAM DIRECTION, SAID SHEETFEEDING MECHANISM COMPRISING: A SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM, FOLDINGMECHANISM FOR RECEIVING INDIVIDUAL SHEETS FROM THE SHEET FEEDINGMECHANISM AND FOR FOLDING EACH SHEET AT LEAST ONCE UPON ITSELF; A SHEETCONVEYOR EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY IN PARALLELISM WITH SAID ARTICLECONVEYOR AND INTERCONNECTED WITH SAID DRIVING SYSTEM, ADAPTING THE SHEETCONVEYOR TO BE ADVANCED IN THE DOWNSTREAM DIRECTION AT A RATECORRESPONDING TO THE RATE OF ADVANCEMENT OF THE ARTICLE CONVEYOR;